


Spirits of the Forest

by skekMal



Category: The Dark Crystal (1982), The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23801419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skekMal/pseuds/skekMal
Summary: Again, a small collection of short drabbles describing skekMal and his relation with Gie, skekSo and other skeksis and gelfling.I want to delve into Hunter's mind.
Relationships: skekMal (Dark Crystal)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24





	1. His Prey

He ran, like a wind, like a strong gust of fresh air dancing between the trees, sweeping away the leaves, and kicking the soil with his claws. The forest was catching him in its embrace and welcoming him as its ruler, the only one who really owned it.

She was so close. Her scent was hanging along his path, he could sense her from afar, like the sweetest honey on his tongue. She smelled of youth, of dry moss and everything in between. He lost his mind for this scent. 

She was running, fast, fast, in fear, or in joy, it didn't matter to him. He wanted to catch her, mark her, claim her. She was his and this cat and mouse play only was making him more desirous.

He taught her so well. She was agile, her body tense and toned, her moves quick and balanced. She was his own creation, a clumsy guard sent by skekSo to her doom, changing into a huntress, the spirit of the forest.

The memory of her touch was making him lose his head, even more, his moves started to be unfocused, a wild heated animal, chasing his prey under the green canopy, under the vast darkening sky. It was what he was living for; his strong legs kicked him up, he was running now among the branches, the keen moss-colored eyes looking down, in the joy of the pursue.

There she was!

She ran like a rakkida, her long hair tangled and partially caught by braids. Her face firm and excited, her smile wild and passionate.

She saw him when he jumped on the lowest and thickest branch of a huge korka tree.

She changed direction, yet he was already catching her, falling on her and pinning her to the soft grass. She started to wiggle, but her hands embraced him, her legs catching his hips, trying to snatch as much of his broad frame as she could.

"My Hunter caught me..." she purred.

He was inhaling the air, his tail thumping in an excited manner. His blood boiled at the restless closeness of her body.

"You know what you are, gelfling" he pressed his body tighter, minding to not crush her with his weight.

"Oh yes, my Hunter..."

He buried his masked face into her small chest, feeling as her body welcomes him, her breasts heaving in ragged, impatient way.

"...I am your prey. I always was."

She opened before him and he didn't need more invitation. She was his possession. And he was her pursuer, till the suns stop to shine and the moons fall into the pits of perdition.


	2. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Gie and skekMal became a couple, there was a lot of tension between... and badly chosen words.

Gie was looking as skekMal skins the small animal for their supper. He was working in silence, his mask still on his head, he didn't take it off as he sometimes was doing, when feeling comfortable. He sat on the piled-up furs and was doing his job like he was absent, his thoughts trailing somewhere, but certainly not in this reality.

She wanted to talk to him but was scared that she will break the soft and tiny thread on the understanding they had lately. The skeksis hunter seemed easily offended and very judgemental over her, yet she still wanted to please him. She grew fond of his rough company and his lack of awareness towards her feelings was stabbing her in the heart like one of his knives.

She decided on a dangerous move. It was as dangerous as stepping on the burning coals. But she will never know if she won't try.

"When I was in the castle..." she started, still not sure if it's the right thing to do. What if he doesn't care? Why if he cares actually but in offense hurts her? Many thoughts were running through her mind but none of them was right. "... I liked to observe the lords."

He didn't react. His knife was moving, separating fur and skin from the meat.

"They were fascinating. I am a gelfling so their customs were so strange for me... like different species... haha, but YOU all are different species."

Not seeing any reaction whatsoever, she decided to test him more.

"You know that Historian likes to sleep over his books? I used to watch him sometimes, as he snorts and groans in his sleep. And Ornamentalist had a habit of making small noises when he ate..."

She twisted in her seat on the blanket. skekMal's knife was working faster, the blood was flowing between his fingers.

"I used to... watch them... to see how they look when no one is prying on them... following them, when they thought they aren't seen... I liked that... I liked that very much..."

Suddenly the blow of air warned her that something goes against her head. She was confused for a second but then, she saw a knife buried deep into the skin of the tree behind her and she understood she has gone too far. He tossed the knife so precisely that it didn't scratch even a small part of her skin, yet she still felt the blow of the wind in her ear.

She looked, frightened, at the Hunter, who stood there, with blood on his hands and cold gleam in his eyes, hidden deeply behind the mask.

"skekMal, I am sorry!" she squeaked. "I wanted---"

He was near her so quickly that she didn't managed to even gasp. His bloody hand took her face in the rough hold and his eyes dug deep into hers like they wanted to reach into her inside and tear them from her.

"If you want to praise the l o r d s in my company, better leave me and go your own way" he hissed. "They are nothing more than leftovers over what they used to be. I didn't take you with me because I want to hear pointless chattering over how good they were to you, how you l i k e d them and how you respect them."

"skek---"

He retracted his hand, leaving blood on her chin and cheeks.

"You want to speak to my feelings. Good. Do it more wisely. I do like you, gelfling. But what I really don't like is foolishness."

Flinging his tail wildly, he didn't even pretend to be not offended, he lifted the knife he threw at her, and with stride and noise so unlike for him, he left the camp, she managed to see how fluffed his back spines were, the hair on his tail electrified with anger.  
"skekMal..." she sighed, closing her eyes. 

She wanted to tell him that she likes him, and more, that she is fond of his company and he makes her feel important, that he is her teacher of life and she made a mistake. That - also - she is hurt by his changing attitude towards her, that she doesn't know how to stand on his shifty mood. He taught her so much, so many things. He showed her how to hunt and how to survive. He showed her how to be better and that she I S better, in many things.

Why they can't get along then? 

She wanted to make him jealous, for him to speak his mind. And he spoke. Why, then, it's not... enough?


	3. Token

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, I was inspired heavily to write something feely. Oh my, skekMal, beware, I come to write neatness and fuzz about you, you big wild boi.

skekMal was looking at Gie with undeciphered expression. His eyes sank even deeper into his mask, so she can't see if he is angered, amused, or makes a joke from her. He just stood there, his hand stretched, inviting her to look into it. His tail moved slowly and steady and that was a sign he is content. She didn't know if it's good. Usually, it was, but...

Knowing what he gave her last time, when they sealed their new bond in wide-spread furs, under sister moons, she better receives a token from the sly Chamberlain than again have him giving her a tore-up heart of unknown prey. That was so... He _couldn't_ really think that she will like it. Yet he _did_ and that was most frightening.

"It's not a heart, yes?"

"Not even a string of it" his voice low and ever tempting, yet she still was unsure if she should really trust him.

"No severed finger, some kind of flesh token, huh? I can't really rely on your common sense in case of gifts..."

"I wasn't severing fingers at night" his maw curled in a playful smile and she took even worse suspicion.

"Hunter... I really don't want to go through with it again. Last time I felt nauseous and it was not the best invitation for what you expected later. I just can't look at the things that---"

"No"

He removed the hand and circling her up, he stood behind her, pressing his stomach to her back, making her inhale the air in surprise. His right hand laid on her shoulder and left one curled around her and still hiding the gift, he spoke lowly.

"Open. It's not bloodied. Not fleshy. It's something I owned for trines, many many trines..."

She swallowed soundly and slowly, cautiously, she took his worn fingers into her hand and bent them over, to see what he hides for her.

At first, she was sure, he lied to her, cursed skeksis, and his games... but then, it dawned on her, that it's not what she suspected.

A polished claw, with strange symbols on it, shining in the setting sun, with a raw strap fixed to it, so it was easier to hang it on the neck. It was old, she thought, maybe even older than herself. It looked like it was a thing one cherish for long and for various personal reasons.

"Is it..."

"It was my most difficult prey. I almost died, heh. And now it's yours. You are a huntress, wear it with pride."

"But... I didn't earn it! It's your trophy, you slew that animal... it should---"

"When you put down your first prey, alone, I will ask for a return. But now, it will give you strength. You will take it. No questions."

"But---"

His tail curling up her thighs, a low guttural growl building slowly in his chest. Yes, of course. That was what he wanted. It was long since they were together, while he ventured to find new hunting grounds. He must have thought about it for long until he came at her with the gift. She closed her eyes, loving how his warmth radiate from his body, embracing her like a wave.

"Don't talk. I don't want to hear you talking" he took her waist in a tight hold and squeezed.

"The hunter is hungry, I see..." she whispered, her hands touching his own, sensing the coarse texture of his skin.

" _Starving_."

"Let's then... I must thank you for such a gift."

When she was with him, it didn't matter that he is raw as strap fixed to the bone necklace he gave her and that he often doesn't know how to be gentle or understanding. It didn't matter that he was rough and that he never said what he actually feels. He was who he was, and she knew he cares for her, in his own way, far from ideal, far from everything her upbringing taught her. He was not a gelfling and not even a skeksis lord, at least not in the vague sense the other lords were describing themselves.

But he was here and even when he was hunting, she knew he will return. Even after Unum of lone hunt, he was returning, like a gust of breeze from the ocean. He could have offered her a newly killed sarkak leg as a gift, she would scoff, nag, writhe but accept, eventually.

She felt good in his company, it was certain safety around him, a stone-like assurance. She couldn't even imagine him not protecting her or treating her wrongly. There was a strength in his feelings, when he was laying with her and when he was simply looking at her, sitting by the fire; she felt that it brims inside his chest, even if he didn't say a word and seemed to not care at all.

He was like a wind, like a freshwater from the stream, untamed, wild and unpredictable.

And that, exactly that, was making her happy.


	4. Noises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gie still isn't used to nights in Dark Forest.

Gie was laying in the furs that skekMal made as her bedding, pressed with her body tightly to Hunter's back, when she heard the noise, very slight one, coming from the darkness of the forest in front of the clearing. Her hand grasped at his flank, she still was unused to all what was happening in the Dark Forest at night. Perhaps she should, after learning so much from the Hunter. But night for her still wasn't the same as night for him. It still held mystery and glistening eyes, even if she didn't see any now.

"skekMal..." she whispered cautiously. She patted his hip strong enough to wake him up, as he slept very shallowly.

'Mhhmmrhghh..."

'skekMal, I hear something" she sat, not allowing the furs to fall from her naked body.

The skeksis hunter slowly opened his eyelids and narrowed his brows.

"What."

"I hear that there is SOMETHING."

skekMal looked in the direction she pointed, then laid back and closed his eyes again.

"Nothing is there. Go to sleep."

"I heard something, Hunter" she insisted. "YOU should hear it even better."

skekMal chuckled.

"And you think I wouldn't notice?"

"You are toying with me, for your amusement and you DO hear."

"Yes. I am a bad boy. Now go to sleep, tomorrow we go to train in the caves of Grot and this will be an exhausting endeavor."

"Oh really"? the slight anger started to bubble in her.

"Yes. If you don't want me to show you how suddenly awaken skeksis reacts on those who awakened him, better not touch me---" she knew he jokes but retracted her hand as fast as she could - "... close eyes and do one of the best things that one can do at night."

She scoffed.

"I could really suspect you wouldn't take for serious anything I would say, yes?"

"No. I take seriously everything you say that is RIGHT and TRUE. I never deny your right, if you have one. You woke me up for nothing. A hunter, yes, you as well, need sleep for good performance. I am alert on every danger that is around. If it was something dangerous, I would be first on my feet. My blade is always ready."

She felt as his talon lift slightly the furs and covers her, realizing that the hides slid a bit from her breasts, exposing her a little. She huffed. He knew perfectly how she looks naked and more, but now, for him seeing her like that only added to this silly situation.

"You really like that, don't you?"

"Yes. I like everything that involves naked gelfling. Sleep. Tomorrow we have a busy day, even before the suns rise."

She wanted to say something, anything, but she knew that now he won't respond. He made his point. That how he worked. She wanted to yell at him and tell him that he is atrocious, but she knew that he won't listen to that too.

Sighing in distraught, she carefully lifted the furs even higher under her chin - she won't let him have his satisfaction - and closed her eyes, trying to not listen to that awful rummaging in the forest, which the Hunter decided to ignore.

He had possibly right. He still knew better, he was more experienced. He was proud because of this experience, and she loved that in him. She loved his confidence, strength, and that he was as reliable as the sister moons appearing every night.

But sometimes, no, very often, she would love to swat him hard in the forehead, pull his tail and prove she has more right than he ever thought. And after that, allow him to do anything he wants, as she proved her point.


	5. A Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of grandness in skekMal's mind. I really believe he is capable of it. He only doesn't want.

two star-crossed lights, blood covering their faces  
made of stone and vine, cracked monuments

caves collapse, suns burns down  
the world turns into dust

but they still hunt, together, as one  
covered with stardust  
chasing falling embers  
on the vast stands of the universe

are you here?  
yes, Gie... I feel stronger... and filled with joy  
my Hunter  
my Mate...

the hunter and his mate  
the guardian and the pupil

"Hunter... Hunter..." he felt as small hands of the gelfling shake him strongly, he opened his eyes, suddenly, they gained light in the sharp shadows of burning fire.

"What" he barked, still shocked about what he dreamed about. His hand instinctively landed on the knife, yet she didn't move even for millimeter. Damn, her boldness. Damn, everything. Why the thought of her doesn't leave his mind? And why that dream, had to be so grand? Like he didn't have enough problems with the task from skekSo.

"You seemed like..." Gie started but seeing something in his expression, she suddenly retreated and stood from her knees. "Why you always push me away?"

"Yes. Your delusions. Again. Go to sleep, gelfling" he regretted the words as soon as he spoke them. He wanted to hold her, tell her that she is his... Yet... he couldn't. This was beyond him. He didn't know what he feels. He simply didn't know how.


	6. Stars

"So... what they are, the stars, among the skeksis?"

Gie was laying against the Hunter, her one arm under her head and the second embracing his broad neck. She felt the warmth he was emanating, and it was soothing and pleasant. He was still a bit intimidatimg for her, be not scary. And it's good, she thought. He was fascinating. That's why she wanted him so much.

skekMal seemed to drift into some unknown mental place, where he maybe hunted his imaginary prey, the same way he pursued real one. His eyes were closed and his tail was slowly swaying with calm content. She could only guess about what he could think. The stars probably were not even close to that. Leaning delicately over him, she touched his scarce hair, which long time ago were surely a mane of black fur and feathers.

"You are disrupting me" he said, not opening his eyelids.

"Well, I am good at that. Distraction. Better never take me on the hunt again."

"How will you learn how to hunt, if you won't attend my lessons?" he huffed, but smile already creeping on his beak.

"Why I even need to learn hunting when you will be always here to hunt for us both?" she retorted.

He laughed silently, still blind to the world. "If you think that I will be doing all tasks for you, because I like you, you are really with wrong skeksis."

She smiled, knowing he may still test her and teach her, many times in rough and dangerous manner, but he still cares for her and will save her, when the danger is too high.

"How could I even want to surpass you, Hunter" she laughed.

"You can't. But that doesn't mean you don't need to try." he eventually opened his eyes. The deep green cavern were looking deep into her soul. "They don't believe in anything."

"Hmm?"

"The skeksis. The Ritual Master may make rites for every single star on the sky. But they all don't believe in anything. Only now and here counts."

She put a hand on his forehead and started to caress his brows. Now, without mask, his features seemed like made of scars and meandring lines. It semed his face was telling her a story of his life. "And you? In what the Hunter believes? Are the stars fallen warriors, looking for their home on the sky?"

skekMal growled, more at her movements than the question. For her, it was like petting a very wild and very content feline, who doesn't jump at you only because its not in the mood.

"I could tell you many stories. Yet only one is real for me. Because I like to think that I managed to break with these shiny lights once and for all."

Her hand ran over his chest, which heaved now with light and easy breath, her fingers touching his ribs, oddly shaped, rough as him.

"Tell me just one story, tonight. Only that one which makes you happy."

"I am not a fool. Aughra told me about stars, many times, in different ocassions. I could not believe in something that required a pompous ritual, too. But our souls, skeksis souls, are linked with different world. We are here a guests and our souls belong to the stars, we want it or not. These are eyes that watch us. These are cruel reminders of our legacy. But I will stay here. If I perish, and it won't be easy and soon, I will stay on this land, I won't allow the sky take me. I will fight with fangs and talons.  
He growled, swatting the ground with his tail.

"We are not immortal, Gie. Neither of us is. Skeksis may seek solace in the rites that flatter their vanity. We all may think that eventually, the three suns and the crystal make the skeksis live forever. But you must know one thing. I doubt it will happen. I don't want it, they are fools, but my fools, which made my youth happier, as silly as it was. But they will perish. We all will perish, one day."

She tried to say something but nothing really came to her mind.

"We are all mortal, Gie" he murmured. "And that makes us lucky ones. When we know that each moment has the end, we appreciate it more. That's why I hunt each day. That's why I am who I am."

His tail curled around her, the tip laying directly on her breasts, but this time, she really thought it was not intentional.

The small thought flew through her mind, when after some time, the fire warmed her feet and she heard the breathing of skekMal changes, now he was huffing as always when he was falling asleep or when he was content and pleased.

If this is not the wind in her wings, in her hair... if he is not her wild hunt... then nothing ever will. 

_______

"Tell me, Hunter... how does it feel to be observed by a gelfling when you take your morning bath?"

"Clever. Heh."

"When you are naked?"

"You test my patience gelfling."

"That's what I am good at. Just as good as at distraction."


End file.
